I like the Gheorghiu sound very much when she opens her mouth. It's when she kind of peels her lips back over her teeth and tapers her tone down that she bums me out. I always had hopes for her in big-girl repertory. I used to suspect that she was staying in the light lyric stuff so she could perform with Alagna and I was hoping someday she would break out the spinto and thrill us all. But it seems I was wrong. And her whole stage persona these days strikes me as false, especially that grotesque fit of girlishness in the recognition duet.

Overall, I found it a very satisfying night at the opera, though. No, Hampson's not Warren, Giordani's not Bergonzi, etc., but I really like the men's contributions across the board and, with Luisi at the podium, I dunno, I don't have much to complain about! Dramatically the opera has a lot of problems but as a tone-poem, it's gorgeous.